Two Cleveland citizens are remembered as role models of the nearby Jewish community who lived to help others less than a day after the devastating plane tragedy that claimed their lives.
A small plane went missing on January 19th near Westchester Airport after pilot Boruch Taub reported engine failure less than 30 minutes after takeoff, as previously reported on Yidinfo, shocking the Jewish community.
Inadvertently sending a series of WhatsApp messages intended for his wife to the Bais Avrohom night seder group chat in Cleveland, entrepreneur Ben Chafetz, the only passenger on the flight, requested that the community say Tehillim and reported that the plane had lost its engines.
Taub, a lifelong resident of Cleveland, was the father of five kids. Owner of MasterWorks Automotive and a mechanical engineering graduate of Cleveland State University, Taub developed a small neighborhood garage into a successful enterprise.
Chaikel Kaufman, a local of Cleveland, recalled Taub as very kind-hearted. Because of his garage’s location between two synagogues, he frequently let neighbors park their cars in his lot when spaces weren’t available.
Taub, a model of integrity and a prolific donor to charity institutions, was well-known for assisting neighbors in extending the life of their aging vehicles.
One Cleveland resident who requested anonymity recounted how Taub would provide her a minivan to use if he knew she needed to drive a carpool and said, “He was such a mentsh every single time I went in there.” Customers whose automobiles weren’t available in time were given loaner cars.
The two males, both in their forties, were described by her as “outstanding individuals. Ben was larger than life, and Boruch was the kindest person you will ever meet.
Another Clevelander remembers Chafetz as a well-known opportunity seeker who was a father of seven children.
He employed many young people from the neighborhood, frequently giving those leaving kollel their first job.
Kaufman stated that despite the businessman’s affluence, his charity donations were too high, a fact he had witnessed at a recent Adopt a Kollel fundraiser in Cleveland.
After viewing a film at the event, Chafetz took out his credit card and told Kaufman how much he wanted to give, but the sum was higher than the limit the rabbi had established to make sure everyone felt like they were contributing equally to the cause.
After the plane vanished on Thursday night, members of the Chafetz family who reside in New York called Misaskim, and Chaverim of Rockland coordinator and Misaskim member Yossi Margaretten made contact with the Westchester Police Department with the aid of the Ramapo Police Department.
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